1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water soluble agglomerates, and in particular, to water soluble maltodextrin and water soluble food grade acid agglomerate compositions.
2) Description of Related Art
In the food and pharmaceutical industries, a need has long existed for stable soluble acid agglomerates that rapidly dissolve in solution. Water soluble acid agglomerates are useful in the food industry in the formulation of powdered beverages, for example, in the formation of powdered lemonade. These soluble acid agglomerates are often mixed with other constituents of various particle sizes to formulate the desired food product mixture. In the pharmaceutical industry, soluble acid agglomerates are often useful in the formation of dispersible medicaments such as, for instance, water soluble ingestible medicines.
In order to ensure and enhance the rapid dissolution of soluble acid agglomerates it has been found that reducing the particle sizes of the acidulent to be dissolved is helpful to the dissolution thereof. However, in reducing the particle size of these soluble acid agglomerates, it has become more difficult to form stable dry blends. When reduced size soluble acid agglomerates are combined with different constituents of various particle sizes, the stability of such soluble acid agglomerates are often severely compromised. Further, when reduced size soluble acid agglomerates are combined or prepackaged with larger size particles, such a combination has deleterious effects on the soluble acid agglomerates' abilities to flow, compress, mix, and even their dissolution characteristics.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for improved methods of making and reducing size soluble acid agglomerates, preferably water soluble acid agglomerates, that have improved stability, flow-ability, compress-ability, mix-ability, and dissolve readily in solution.